1. Field of Invention
The present invention is generally related to a shredder having cutter elements for shredding articles. In particular, the apparatus comprises a device for capturing shredded articles when a waste bin is removed.
2. Background
A common type of shredder has a shredder mechanism contained within a housing and mounted atop a container. The shredder mechanism typically includes a cutting head assembly including a series of cutter elements that shred articles such as paper, CDs, DVDs, credit cards, and the like that are fed therein and discharge the shredded articles downwardly through a discharge opening into the container. An example of such a shredder may be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,559, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
When the container of the shredder is emptied, the cutter elements may have waste particles from the shredded articles caught within them, or they may be caught on the strippers located between the cutter elements. Paper shredders using cutting assemblies having stacked cutters and strippers may aggravate this problem even more so because their assembly is more prone to allowing waste particles to become wedged into these areas. When the waste bin or container is pulled out from beneath the shredder mechanism to be emptied, the action of moving or pulling on the bin or container may agitate the shredder and the waste particles stuck in the cutting assembly. Thus, dislodged waste particles may fall through the discharge opening to the bottom of the cabinet and/or onto the floor near the shredder. The creation of this mess of waste particles in, near or around the shredder is typical, known, and recognized as a consumer annoyance.
Some prior art shredders are known to provide mechanisms or flaps for safety reasons, e.g., to keep the user away from the sharp metal cutter elements, or as a bin full indication method. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,204,441 B1, issued Apr. 17, 2007 to the same assignee, and herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, describes a shredder apparatus with full bin indicator. More specifically, the '441 patent illustrates a flap that can be used for both safety purposes and as an indication that the waste bin is full of shredded materials. The flap of the '441 patent is hinged so that it can close over the opening if the head is tilted vertically. However, devices for helping reduce possible messes caused by waste particles when the bins or containers of the shredders are emptied are not known in the art.